Climate activists broke into four German airports and briefly brought air traffic to a standstill at two airports before police made arrests.

On Thursday morning, demonstrators from the “Last Generation” – the German equivalent of “Just Stop Oil” – gained access to airfields near the runways of Cologne-Bonn, Nuremberg, Berlin-Brandenburg and Stuttgart airports. In Nuremberg and Cologne-Bonn, air traffic was temporarily suspended due to police operations.

The activists cut holes in fences with bolt cutters, stuck themselves to the asphalt and unfurled banners reading “Oil kills” and “Sign the treaty”, referring to the Last Generation’s demand that the German government negotiate and sign an agreement for an international ban on the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

The action was reminiscent of similar demonstrations this summer and followed raids on the homes of climate activists in five German cities a week ago, during which police collected DNA samples in what the Last Generation described as an “attempt at intimidation.”

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser condemned the protest and demanded that everyone involved in Thursday’s action be sentenced to prison.

She wrote: “These criminal actions are dangerous and stupid. These anarchists are not only risking their own lives, but also endangering others. We have recommended harsh prison sentences. And we are requiring airports to significantly improve the security of their facilities.”

Last Generation defended its protest by saying that the government’s “inaction” was endangering people’s lives. “Your political failure is dangerous, dragging us ever deeper into a catastrophe… It’s about our existence. About the lives of billions of people,” the group wrote on X.

The “Last Generation” wrote on Thursday afternoon that the eight activists involved had been released from police custody.

The federal government has announced that it intends to tighten the Aviation Security Act to make it more difficult for unauthorized persons to gain access to airport premises. The planned amendment provides for a new regulation according to which “intentional, unauthorized entry” onto taxiways, runways and other areas is automatically considered a threat to the security of civil aviation.

The airport association ADV also condemned the protests. “Today’s disruptions at several airports are a concerted act of criminal blackmail. This is not a peaceful protest and it is not about supposedly higher goals,” said ADV managing director Ralph Beisel. “These are malicious intrusions into air traffic and into the personal rights of every traveler who cannot take their flight as planned.”

The protesters say they are targeting airports because flying has the largest carbon footprint of all travel modes.